files/en-us/web/html/reference/elements/colgroup/index.md
The <colgroup> HTML element defines a group of columns within a table.
{{InteractiveExample("HTML Demo: <colgroup>", "tabbed-taller")}}
<table>
<caption>
Superheros and sidekicks
</caption>
<colgroup>
<col />
<col span="2" class="batman" />
<col span="2" class="flash" />
</colgroup>
<thead>
<tr>
<td></td>
<th scope="col">Batman</th>
<th scope="col">Robin</th>
<th scope="col">The Flash</th>
<th scope="col">Kid Flash</th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
<tr>
<th scope="row">Skill</th>
<td>Smarts, strong</td>
<td>Dex, acrobat</td>
<td>Super speed</td>
<td>Super speed</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
.batman {
background-color: #d7d9f2;
}
.flash {
background-color: #ffe8d4;
}
table {
border-collapse: collapse;
border: 2px solid rgb(140 140 140);
font-family: sans-serif;
font-size: 0.8rem;
letter-spacing: 1px;
}
caption {
caption-side: bottom;
padding: 10px;
}
th,
td {
border: 1px solid rgb(160 160 160);
padding: 8px 6px;
}
td {
text-align: center;
}
This element includes the global attributes.
span
: Specifies the number of consecutive columns the <colgroup> element spans. The value must be a positive integer greater than zero. If not present, its default value is 1.
[!NOTE] The
spanattribute is not permitted if there are one or more {{HTMLElement("col")}} elements within the<colgroup>.
The following attributes are deprecated and should not be used. They are documented below for reference when updating existing code and for historical interest only.
align {{deprecated_inline}}
: Specifies the horizontal alignment of each column group cell. The possible {{Glossary("enumerated")}} values are left, center, right, justify, and char. When supported, the char value aligns the textual content on the character defined in the char attribute and the offset defined by the charoff attribute. Note that the descendant {{HTMLElement("col")}} elements may override this value using their own align attribute. Use the {{cssxref("text-align")}} CSS property on the {{htmlelement("td")}} and {{htmlelement("th")}} elements instead, as this attribute is deprecated.
[!NOTE] Setting
text-alignon the<colgroup>element has no effect as {{HTMLElement("td")}} and {{HTMLElement("th")}} elements are not descendants of the<colgroup>element, and therefore they do not inherit from it.If the table does not use a
colspanattribute, use thetd:nth-of-type(an+b)CSS selector per column, whereais the total number of the columns in the table andbis the ordinal position of the column in the table, e.g.,td:nth-of-type(7n+2) { text-align: right; }to right-align the second column cells.If the table does use a
colspanattribute, the effect can be achieved by combining adequate CSS attribute selectors like[colspan=n], though this is not trivial.
bgcolor {{deprecated_inline}}
#, or a color keyword. Other CSS {{cssxref("<color>")}} values are not supported. Use the {{cssxref("background-color")}} CSS property instead, as this attribute is deprecated.char {{deprecated_inline}}
.) when attempting to align numbers or monetary values. If align is not set to char, this attribute is ignored, though it will still be used as the default value for the align of the {{HTMLElement("col")}} elements which are members of this column group.charoff {{deprecated_inline}}
char attribute.valign {{deprecated_inline}}
: Specifies the vertical alignment of each column group cell. The possible {{Glossary("enumerated")}} values are baseline, bottom, middle, and top. Note that the descendant {{HTMLElement("col")}} elements may override this value using their own valign attribute. Use the {{cssxref("vertical-align")}} CSS property on the {{htmlelement("td")}} and {{htmlelement("th")}} elements instead, as this attribute is deprecated.
[!NOTE] Setting
vertical-alignon the<colgroup>element has no effect as {{HTMLElement("td")}} and {{HTMLElement("th")}} elements are not descendants of the<colgroup>element, and therefore they do not inherit from it.If the table does not use a
colspanattribute, use thetd:nth-of-type()CSS selector per column, e.g.,td:nth-of-type(2) { vertical-align: middle; }to center the second column cells vertically.If the table does use a
colspanattribute, the effect can be achieved by combining adequate CSS attribute selectors like[colspan=n], though this is not trivial.
width {{deprecated_inline}}
0*, which means that the width of each column spanned should be the minimum width necessary to hold the column's contents. Relative widths such as 5* can also be used. Note that the descendant {{HTMLElement("col")}} elements may override this value using their own width attribute. Use the {{cssxref("width")}} CSS property instead, as this attribute is deprecated.<colgroup> should appear within a {{HTMLElement("table")}}, after any {{HTMLElement("caption")}} element (if used), but before any {{HTMLElement("thead")}}, {{HTMLElement("tbody")}}, {{HTMLElement("tfoot")}}, and {{HTMLElement("tr")}} elements.<colgroup>:
background properties will set the background for cells within the column group. As the column group background color is painted on top of the table, but behind background colors applied to the columns ({{HTMLElement("col")}}), the row groups ({{htmlelement("thead")}}, {{htmlelement("tbody")}}, and {{htmlelement("tfoot")}}), the rows ({{htmlelement("tr")}}), and the individual cells ({{htmlelement("th")}} and {{htmlelement("td")}}), backgrounds applied to table column groups are only visible if every layer painted on top of them has a transparent background.border properties apply, but only if the <table> has {{cssxref("border-collapse", "border-collapse: collapse")}} set.collapse for a column group results in all cells of the columns in that column group not being rendered, and cells spanning into other columns being clipped. The space these columns in the column group would have occupied is removed. However, the size of other columns is still calculated as though the cells in the collapsed column(s) in the column group are present. Other values for visibility have no effect.width property defines a minimum width for the columns within the column group, as if {{cssxref("min-width")}} were set.See {{HTMLElement("table")}} for a complete table example introducing common standards and best practices.
This example demonstrates a seven-column table divided into two <colgroup> elements that span multiple columns.
Two <colgroup> elements are used to structure a basic table by creating column groups. The number of columns in each column group is specified by the span attribute.
<table>
<caption>
Personal weekly activities
</caption>
<colgroup span="5" class="weekdays"></colgroup>
<colgroup span="2" class="weekend"></colgroup>
<thead>
<tr>
<th>Mon</th>
<th>Tue</th>
<th>Wed</th>
<th>Thu</th>
<th>Fri</th>
<th>Sat</th>
<th>Sun</th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>Clean room</td>
<td>Football training</td>
<td>Dance Course</td>
<td>History Class</td>
<td>Buy drinks</td>
<td>Study hour</td>
<td>Free time</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Yoga</td>
<td>Chess Club</td>
<td>Meet friends</td>
<td>Gymnastics</td>
<td>Birthday party</td>
<td>Fishing trip</td>
<td>Free time</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
Grouped columns can be used to visually highlight the structure using CSS:
table {
border-collapse: collapse;
border: 2px solid rgb(140 140 140);
}
caption {
caption-side: bottom;
padding: 10px;
}
th,
td {
border: 1px solid rgb(160 160 160);
padding: 8px 6px;
text-align: center;
}
.weekdays {
background-color: #d7d9f2;
}
.weekend {
background-color: #ffe8d4;
}
table {
font-family: sans-serif;
font-size: 0.8rem;
letter-spacing: 1px;
}
{{EmbedLiveSample('Example', 650, 170)}}
{{Specifications}}
{{Compat}}